The Department of Biochemistry is fortunate to have three independently-funded postdoctoral fellows starting research early this year. All three postdocs have successfully applied for funding from outside the University. Cassidy Moeke and Megan Leask have both received postdoctoral fellowships from the Lottery Health Research Fund, and Rowan Herridge has received his postdoctoral fellowship from AGMARDT (the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust).
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| From left: Dr Cassidy Moeke, Dr Megan Leask, and Dr Rowan Herridge. |
Cassidy Moeke is originally from Wellington and completed his PhD at the University of Sydney. He will be joining the Merriman Lab to investigate the inflammatory triggers of gout using both genetics and proteomics.
Megan Leask is returning to the Department after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Otago Department of Pathology. She will also be joining the Merriman Lab identifying genetic variants that could be used to develop and improve treatments of metabolic disease, aiming specifically to improve Māori health.
Rowan Herridge, formerly a PhD student in the Department, is returning after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He will be in the Brownfield/Macknight labs developing gene editing and studying fertility and pollen development in ryegrass, a key plant in New Zealand agriculture.